SMBC celebrates Centenary
Sydney Missionary and Bible College at Croydon is this weekend celebrating its Centenary, beginning with a Thanksgiving Service on Friday night April 15 2016.
Principal Stuart Coulton introduced past Principal, and now Presbyterian Moderator General, David Cook. Preaching from Hebrews 1:1-4, David exhorted his hearers to hold fast to the Bible, the revealed word of God, and to be constantly vigilant against drifting from the truth.
The Centenary celebrations will continue on Saturday April 16 with an Open Day.
A highlight of the day will be the launch of the College’s centenary history, Out of Darkness, by Academic Vice Principal Anthony Brammall (pictured).
The book is available from the College.
Transgender issues under Australian Law — an overview
“The question of legal and social recognition of the rights of transgender persons is becoming a very hot topic of discussion. The recent debate in Australia on the content of the material provided for schools by the “Safe Schools Coalition” is one example. …
This post cannot deal with all the current issues. But I thought as a preliminary exercise it would be helpful to briefly review the current Australian law around the topic, to set the scene for future discussions. I will also offer a few comments on recent proposals for change to the criteria adopted for changing a person’s legal gender identity.”
– More useful legal background from Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia.
Journal of Australian Church History – new issue
“Students in their fourth year of the Bachelor of Divinity degree at Moore Theological College have the opportunity to research and write a 5 000 word essay in Church History on some aspect of evangelicalism in Australia or Britain (post-1600). The excellent quality of some of these essays has encouraged the Church History Department to seek a way to share the fruits of the research and writing of these students with a broader audience.”
– Check out Volume 3, currently highlighted on the Moore College website.
New book from Paul Barnett — Philippians & Philemon: Joy in the Lord
Coming soon is a new book from Paul Barnett, Philippians & Philemon: Joy in the Lord.
Details and pre-order info from CEP.
You won’t be late
“I have had punctuality bred into me, even now, if I am meeting my sisters, I know they will be at least 10 minutes early and sometimes I am even earlier.
Some people are habitually late, I am habitually early.
Oscar Wilde said that he was always late on principle, the principle being that punctuality is the thief of time. Evelyn Waugh believed punctuality to be the virtue of the bored, those who have nothing better to do than to be on time.
The writer of Hebrews says that there is an appointment we will all meet, none will be either early or late…”
– A concise reminder of the truth, from David Cook.
Back to Basics Part 5 — The power of the gospel
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is what the Bible tells us. We are commanded to enter the kingdom of God by entrusting ourselves to Christ as our Lord and Saviour. That is, we enter and continue through repentance and faith.
The Canterbury meeting of the Primates made space for the summons to repentance to be heard once more.
Why is this so vital?…”
– GAFCON General Secretary, Dr. Peter Jensen, shares the fifth of six reflections on January’s Primates’ Meeting in Cambridge.
New 9Marks Journal — April 2016
“Church documents are a prosaic topic, to be sure. But they facilitate unity. They protect a church from being governed by the passions of the moment. And they force a congregation and its leaders to be careful, deliberate, reflective, and, hopefully, biblical. Not bad, for a boring old administrator’s job.
To put it another way, church documents are kind. It is kind to tell people what you think up front. It is kind [to] say what you will expect from them or how disagreements will be resolved…”
– The latest issue of 9Marks Journal is out. The theme is “Confessions, Covenants, and Constitutions”.
Justin Mote on Applying the Bible
In the latest Preaching Matters from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, Justin Mote speaks about applying the Bible – including five tips on things you can do to make application better.
Reflections on discipleship (part 1)
“How do you get someone to do something when they are afraid; they lack confidence and competence; they are uncomfortable; they have no experience; they have no vision or passion? This is the question that often plagues pastors and ministry leaders as they seek to empower people to serve…”
– At Equal but Different, Lesley Ramsay has the first in a series of encouraging posts on disciple-making.
Learning to Speak Christian in an Online World
At Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living, two weeks ago, the topic was “Learning to Speak Christian in an Online World”.
The aim of the centre is “to bring Biblical ethics to everyday issues”.
Watch Lionel Windsor’s talk. Practical and encouraging.
See also the intro by CCL Director Tony Payne and The Q&A afterwards.
Might make you want to get Lionel’s book. (Or like us on Facebook.)
Insulting religion and legal consequences
“Two recent news items raised interesting issues of free speech about religion and its legal consequences. One was a comment by Mr Peter Fitzsimmons; the other a report about an ‘anti-Muslim’ banner being flown at a football game…”
– Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, looks at two very topical examples of speech relating to religion.
Back to Basics Part 4 — Repentance
“As we think through the significance of the meeting of Primates in Canterbury, we come to the key subject of repentance.
The issues before us have doctrinal and political aspects. But, finally, they are spiritual and that is why repentance matters.
The original tragic division in the Anglican Communion was the responsibility of certain North American Anglicans. They have been invited back into communion with those who severed relationships.
But this is not simply a matter of apology without change.
The need is repentance, with the hope of reconciliation and restoration…”
– GAFCON General Secretary, Dr Peter Jensen, writes the fourth of six reflections in the light of January’s Primates Meeting.
Taking God at his Word — free audiobook April 2016
Christian Audio’s free book for April 2016 is Kevin DeYoung’s Taking God at his Word.
Christopher Ash at the Moore College Graduation 2016
Christopher Ash gave the Occasional Address at the 2016 Moore College Graduation.
Watch the encouraging, but challenging, video at the link.
Earlier related story from SydneyAnglicans.net.
What is the Anglican Consultative Council meeting for?
“The Archbishop of Canterbury has written to urge all Anglican primates to attend the Anglican Consultative Council in Lusaka from April 8-19.
The primates of Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda have indicated that their representatives cannot attend because the spirit of the Primates Meeting in Canterbury, which introduced consequences for TEC and its participation in Communion decision-making on doctrine and polity, appears to be being overridden or ignored. …
Kenya and Nigeria were very gracious in trusting the conversations at Canterbury and the decisions made there. They now suspect that they were misled.
Lusaka is not the place to sort out church polity, unity, doctrine or matters of sexuality. Those are the callings of the primates meeting and the Lambeth conference of Bishops.”
– Chris Sugden writes for The Church of England Newspaper. Via Anglican Mainstream.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…